Charging apparatus



June 6, 1944. A, K

CHARGING APPARATUS Filed Decl 20, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l ALMER s, HICKSJune 6, 1944. w 2,350,611.

' CHARGING APPARATUS 7 v Q Filed Deg. 20, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2'Elma/whom ALMER e. HICKS Patented June 6, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE 2,350,611 CHARGING APPARATUS Almer G. Hicks, Lockwood, OhioApplication December 20, 1941, Serial No. 423,779

(Cl. zen-69f 9 Claims.

This invention relates to an apparatus for conveying and dischargingmaterial and more particularly to an apparatus which is especiallysuited for the handling and charging into a metallurgical furnace ofmetal scrap, pigs and other ingredients making up the charge of thefurnace. The furnace is necessarily provided with a removable cover ortop and may, in practice, be of the common top charging electric type.

In making up the charge for a metallurgical furnace it is particularlydesirable to batch the charge as to analysis and weight and it is commonpractice to employ for this purpose a charging bucket of great strengthand weight which is first filled with the charge batch and then emptiedinto the furnace en masse. For the latter purpose the charging bucket isprovided with a bottom of special construction, as, for example, anormally hinged bottom which, when released, is operative to withdrawall support for the material in the bucket thereby allowing the materialto fall into the furnace. The most common practice in this regard is toconstruct the bottom of a plurality of wedge-shaped segments which arehinged to the lower end of the circumferentially extending side wall ofthe bucket and which are provided at their inner ends with downwardlyextending hooks about which a length of manila fibre rope may be coiled.When the loaded charging bucket is placed over the hot open furnace, theheat of the furnace ignites the rope thereby allowing the bottom 7segments to swing downwardly. This method of operation is highlyinefiicient since at each charging a quantity of valuable rope isconsumed, a substantial amount of heat is lost from the furnace, andproduction of the whole plant may be delayed as long as twelve minuteswhile the burning through of the bottom retaining rope is awaited. Whileheretofore various trip devices for releasing the bottom segments havebeen proposed to make the dumping operation more eflicient, none havebeen particularly successful because of a number of reasons. First, thearrangements proposed have required a specially constructed bottom whichis diflicult to construct and maintain in working order, considering thesevere conditions of service encountered in the steel mill and second,such trip mechanisms have relied on contact between an element carriedby the bucket and a part of the furnace being charged to effect therelease and it was found that damage to the furnace or mechanismoccurred frequently.

Another objectionable aspect of the present practice, and this is trueregardless of the type of releasing mechanism employed, is the fact thatthe segments must be moved to closed position by manual labor whichoperation requires substantially the constant attendance of at least twoworkers to a difficult and dangerous task. A further object of theinvention is the provision of a simply constructed apparatus which isoperative to automatically move to closed positions the hinged segmentsof a furnace charging bucket. This is accomplished by providing amechanism which is adapted to be engaged .by the bucket as it movesdownwardly under the support of the mill crane and thus the bucket maybe closed without laying it on its side as is the common practice now.

A more specific object of the invention is the provision of a mechanicallatching and tripping mechanism for the segmented bottom of a furnacecharging bucket which mechanism is readily adaptable to buckets ofexisting and common construction and which is not dependent on anycritical interfitting of the parts for its proper operation.

" Yet another object of the invention is the provision of an apparatusfor the purposes and having the characteristics outlined above which isof a rugged nature and capable of withstanding the severe conditions ofservice encountered in the steel mill. *The above and other objects andadvantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration ofthe following detailed specification and the accompanying drawingswherein there is specifically disclosed a preferred embodiment of theinvention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view of a furnace charging bucket constructedaccording to the invention; Figure 2 is a side view of the bucketclosing mechanism of the invention;

Figure 3 is a bottom plan of the bucket of Figure 1; and

Figure: 4 is a top plan of the apparatus of Figure 2.

Referring to Figures 1 and 3, reference numeral l0 designates thecylindrical body of the bucket and reference numerals H, l2, l3, l4, l5and I6 designate the segmental portions of the bottom of the bucket eachof which are hinged to the lower end of the body l0 at H. In'accordancewith usual practice the segments are ribbed at ill to increase theirstrength. Also the bucket is provided with a carrying yoke [9 which isadapted to be engaged by a principal hook of the overhead crane withwhich all steel mills are furnished. The latch and release mechanism ofmy invention is simple in design, economical to construct, and may bereadily applied to existing types of charging buckets. It consistsprincipally of a heavy disk or plate 20 which is rigidly and permanentlyattached, by riveting, welding or otherwise, to the apex end of one ofthe segments of the bottom. In the illustration the disk 20 is securedto the segment l and a latch bar 2| is slidably received in guides 22and 23 which are rigidly secured to the diametrically opposite, segmentl2. Bar 2| is urged to latching position by the spring 24 and isarranged to be moved outwardly to releasing position by a lever 25 whichis flexibly connected .1 thereto by a chain 26. Lever 25 is hinged to abracket 21. which is secured to the outer surface of the cylindricalbody of the bucket. Extending upwardly from the outer end of lever 25 isan operating rod 28 guided in bracket 29 and having an eye 30 or otherconfiguration adapted to be engaged by a minor hooked line dependingfrom the crane aforesaid.

The charging bucket is also provided with outwardly and downwardlyextending legs 3| which are circumferentially spaced as indicated inFigure 3 and which are provided for thepurpose of maintaining the bucketin upright position for filling.

Since the charging buckets, particularly of the kind used for batchcharging of the larger furnaces, are large and heavy, each of thesegments of the bottom are correspondingly heavy and heretofore theclosing of the bottom has constituted a diflicult and dangerous task. Toaccomplish this operation manually the bucket is laid on its side andthe segments aremoved into position by the conjoint manual effort of twoor more operatives. To obviate this manual task the invention providesasimply constructed closing mechanism now to be described.

Referring to Figures 2 and 4 reference numeral 32 indicates any suitablebase having a plurality of circumferentially spaced yieldable supports33 extending upwardly therefrom and in practice, these supports may takethe form of a telescoping post with a coil spring thereabout to maintainthe post normally in extended position, all as shown in the drawings. Ifdesired, suitable means, not shown, may be provided to adjust the normalvertical heighth of the respective supports. Supported on the post 33 isan annulus 34 adapted to be engaged by the downwardly extending legs 3|of the charging bucket.

Extending upwardly from the center portion of the base 32 are the posts35 on which is mounted a ring 36 having an open section-as shown inFigure 4. Pivotally connected to the annulus 34 and having their innerends resting on the ring 36 are a plurality of circumferentially spacedplates 3! which are adapted to engage the apices of the charging bucketbottom segments I2, l3, I4 and I6 when the open bucket is lowered ontothe closing mechanism. Also pivotally mounted on the annulus 34 andextending inwardly and downwardly centrally of the'opening in ring 36 isa plate 38 having its inner end resting on a lever 39. Lever 39 ispivoted intermediate its ends to a support 40 extending upwardly fromthe base 32 and the end of the lever 33 opposite the end engaged by theplate 38 engages the lower edge of the periphery of the annulus 34 asshown in Figure 2.

In operation the bucket is shuttled back and forth between the chargingfloor or stock house of the mill and the furnace or furnaces to becharged by a principal hook of the crane as aforesaid. Normally there isno'need to vary the angular (about a vertical axis) relation of thebucket relative to the mill floor and consequently once this angularrelation is established relative to the closing mechanism, which isfixed relative to the floor, the opened bucket will always be loweredonto the closing device in the same angular alignment. However, ifdesired, a suitable aligning and/or guiding expedient may be employed.

As the opened bucket is lowered onto the closing mechanism after itscontents have been emptied into the furnace, the depending segment l5will be vertically aligned with the plate 38 and the disk 20 carried bythe segment I5 will slide down the plate 38 to an inclined positionoverlying the bottom portion of the plate. The apices of the remainingsegments engage the plates 31 and consequently these remaining segmentsare caused to move to inclined positions overlying the plates 31. Itwill be understood that at this stage the disk 20 will be considerablylower than the inner portions of the segments ||-|4, l6. At this timethe legs 3| will have engaged the annulus 34 and continued downwardmovement of the charging bucket will cause the posts or supports 33 totelescope or collapse which action causes the plates 31 to move first tohorizontal positions-after which the plate 38 is moved to a horizontalposition by a downward movement of the annulus 34 acting through lever39. This operation has the effect of first moving all the segmentsexcept the one carrying the disk 20 to their horizontal closed positionsand then bringing the segment l5 with disk 20 attached up intoengagement with the segments. As this latter takes place disk 20 movespast latch 2| and the latch then locks the parts in assembled positions.

When the crane lifts the bucket from off the closing mechanism thebucket will remain in closed condition as shown in Figure 1 and it may 7then be moved to its proper position for receiving the materials ofwhich the furnace charge is made up. It is then transferred to above thefurnace which is now opened and by means of the small auxiliary hook,with which all cranes are provided, the trip rod 28 may be engaged andmoved upwardly to withdraw the latch 2| thereby allowing all thesegments of the bottom to simultaneously move to depending positions.The opened bucket is then lowered onto the closing mechanism to completethe cycle of operation.

- It should now be apparent that I have provided a charging apparatuswhich accomplishes all the O je t initially set out. The loss of furnacetime due to charging operations is substantially low; ered since thecharge may be emptied as soon as the furnace is uncovered therebyavoiding the delay of waiting for any ignitable material to burnthrough. Also considerable time and labor is saved in reclosing thebucket since it is only necessary to stop momentarily at the closingmechanism which may, for convenience, be positioned between the furnaceor furnaces and the place where the buckets are filled. It should beunderstood, of course, that the closing mechanism need not necessarilybe placed on the floor of the mill building. It may be placed in anelevated location, being supported from the framework of the building oron independent posts.

The above specifically described embodiment of the invention should beconsidered as illustrative only as obviously many additions,refinements, and improvements may be made thereto without departing fromthe spirit or scope of the invention. Reference should be had to theappended claims in determining the scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

l. A furnace charging bucket comprising in combination a side wall and abottom composed of a plurality of segmental portions each hinged to thelower end of said side wall, a plate rigidly secured to the bottom faceof one of said segments adjacent the apex thereof and having an areaadapted to underlie a portion of each of the other segments when thebottom is in closed condition, and a. latch secured to and carried withone of said segments which is substantially diametrically opposed to thesegment to which said plate is attached to prevent downward movement ofthe adjacent edge of said plate relative to the segment which carriessaid latch, and means to release said latch whereby all of said segmentsmay fall to vertical positions.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 further characterized in that saidmeans to release comprises a lever hinged to the outer surface of saidside wall, and a flexible connection between said lever and latch.

3. A furnace charging bucket having a side wall and a bottom composed ofa plurality of segments each hinged to the lower end of said side wall,each of said segments having strengthening ribs on their lower surfaces,a disk rigidly secured to the inner portion of one of said segments,said disk lying against a portion of the ribs of the said one of saidsegments and having an area sufficient to underlie a portion of the ribsof each of the other segments of the bot tom, a latch secured to andcarried by one of the said other of said segments which is substantiallydiametrically opposite the segment to which the disk is attached, andmeans to release said latch whereby said segments may fall to verticalpositions.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1 further including a plurality ofoutwardly and downwardly extending legs secured to the outer surface ofsaid side wall whereby said bucket may be supported on a plane surfaceindependent of said plate and latch.

5. Charging apparatus including the bucket of claim 1 and automaticmeans to close and latch said bottom, said automatic means beingoperative to move the segments which are not attached to the plate intoclosing positions, and to thereafter move said plate and attachedsegment into bottom closing positions.

6. Charging apparatus comprising the charging bucket of claim 1 andautomatic means to move the bottom segments into bottom closingpositions, said automatic means comprising a normally fixed member and anormally movable member, inclined guiding plates spanning said fixed andmovable members and adapted to engage and support said segments, saidmovable member being adapted to be engaged by said bucket and to bemoved thereby whereby said plates may be tilted to move said segmentsinto bucket closing positions.

'7. Apparatus of the character described comprising in combination abase, a plurality of yieldable supports extending upwardly from saidbase, an annulus on said supports, and adapted to be engaged by elementsextending outwardly and downwardly from a charging bucket, a circularsupport arranged concentrically within said annulus but below the planethereof, and a plurality of circumferentially disposed guides havingtheir inner portions resting on said circular support and their outerends pivoted to said annulus.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 further including an open section insaid circular support, a lever pivoted intermediate its ends on saidbase and adapted to be moved by downward movement of said annulus, anelongated guide pivoted to said annulus and extending downwardly andradially inward in vertical alignment with the center of said opensection, the inner end of said elongated guide resting on the inner endof said lever whereby downward movement of said annulus will cause theinner end of said elongated guide to rise relative to the inner ends ofthe first mentioned guides.

9. Apparatus for closing the hinged segmental bottom flaps of a furnacecharging bucket having more than two such bottom flaps comprising aplurality of circumferentially disposed radially extending and upwardlyinclined guides each adapted to engage the apex of one of said flaps tomove the same inwardly and upwardly relative to the bucket as the bucketis moved toward the closing apparatus, and means to tilt said guidesupon continued movement of said bucket toward said apparatus wherebysaid flaps will be moved to bucket closing positions, one of said guidesbeing initially inclined at a steeper angle than the other of saidguides whereby one of said flaps will be moved to bucket closingposition only after the other of the flaps have been moved to bucketclosing positions.

ALMER G. HICKS.

